Hereupon an account was given of the hurried and interrupted meeting on board the troop-ship; and the two ladies came to the conclusion that as nothing was known about the parents or former residence of John Miles no steps of any kind were possible. The letter was therefore carefully put by.
That same evening there alighted at the railway station in Portsmouth an elderly lady with an expression of great anxiety on her countenance, and much perturbation in her manner.
Any luggage, maam? asked a sympathetic porterfor railway porters are sometimes more sympathetic than might be expected of men so much accustomed to witness abrupt and tender partings.
No; no luggage. Yesa small valisein the carriage. Thats it.
Four-wheeler, maam?
Eh! noyesyes.
Where to, maam? asked the sympathetic porter, after the lady was seated in the cab.
Where to? echoed Mrs Milton, (for it was she), in great distress. Oh! wherewhere shall I drive to?
Really, maam, I couldnt say, answered the porter, with a modest look.
IveImy son! My dear boy! Where shall I go to inquire? Oh! what shall I do?
These would have been perplexing utterances even to an unsympathetic man.
Turning away from the window, and looking up at the driver, the porter said solemnly
To the best otel you know of, cabby, thats not too dear. An if youve bin gifted with compassion, cabby, dont overcharge your fare.
Accepting the direction, and exercising his discretion as well as his compassion, that intelligent cabby drove, strange to say, straight to an hotel styled the Officers House, which is an offshoot of Miss Robinsons Institute, and stands close beside it!
A hofficers lady, said the inventive cabby to the boy who opened the door. Wants to putt up in this ere ouse.
When poor Mrs Milton had calmed her feelings sufficiently to admit of her talking with some degree of coherence, she rang the bell and sent for the landlord.
Mr Tufnell, who was landlord of the Officers House, as well as manager of the Institute, soon presented himself, and to him the poor lady confided her sorrows.
You see, landlord, she said, whimpering, I dont know a soul in Portsmouth; andandin fact I dont even know how I came to your hotel, for I never heard of it before; but I think I must have been sent here, for I see from your looks that you will help me.
You may depend on my helping you to the best of my power, madam. May I ask what you would have me do?
With much earnestness, and not a few tears, poor Mrs Milton related as much of her sons story as she thought necessary.
Well, you could not have come to a better place, said Tufnell, for Miss Robinson and all her helpers sympathise deeply with soldiers. If any one can find out about your son, they can. How were you led to suspect that he had come to Portsmouth?
A friend suggested that he might possibly have done so. Indeed, it seems natural, considering my dear boys desire to enter the army, and the number of soldiers, who are always passing through this town.
Well, I will go at once and make inquiry. The name Milton is not familiar to me, but so many come and go that we sometimes forget names.
When poor Mrs Milton was afterwards introduced to Miss Robinson, she found her both sympathetic and anxious to do her utmost to gain information about her missing son, but the mothers graphic descriptions of him did not avail much. The fact that he was young, tall, handsome, curly-haired, etcetera, applied to so many of the defenders of the country as to be scarcely distinctive enough; but when she spoke of My dear Miles, a new light was thrown on the matter. She was told that a young soldier answering to the description of her son had been there recently, but that his surnamenot his Christian namewas Miles. Would she recognise his handwriting?